16 U.S. Code § 470w–6 - Effective date of regulations

No final regulation of the Secretary shall become effective prior to the expiration of thirty calendar days after it is published in the Federal Register during which either or both Houses of Congress are in session.

(b) Disapproval of regulation by resolution of Congress

The regulation shall not become effective if, within ninety calendar days of continuous session of Congress after the date of promulgation, both Houses of Congress adopt a concurrent resolution, the matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: “That Congress disapproves the regulation promulgated by the Secretary dealing with the matter of , which regulation was transmitted to Congress on ,” the blank spaces therein being appropriately filled.

(c) Failure of Congress to adopt resolution of disapproval of regulation

If at the end of sixty calendar days of continuous session of Congress after the date of promulgation of a regulation, no committee of either House of Congress has reported or been discharged from further consideration of a concurrent resolution disapproving the regulation, and neither House has adopted such a resolution, the regulation may go into effect immediately. If, within such sixty calendar days, such a committee has reported or been discharged from further consideration of such a resolution, the regulation may go into effect not sooner than ninety calendar days of continuous session of Congress after its promulgation unless disapproved as provided for.

(d) Sessions of Congress

For the purposes of this section—

(1)continuity of session is broken only by an adjournment sine die; and

(2)the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of sixty and ninety calendar days of continuous session of Congress.

(e) Congressional inaction or rejection of resolution of disapproval not deemed approval of regulation

Congressional inaction on or rejection of a resolution of disapproval shall not be deemed an expression of approval of such regulation.

Pub. L. 106–208, § 5(a)(12), which directed the amendment of subsec. (c) by substituting “The regulation” for “Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the regulation”, was executed by making the substitution for text that did not include the phrase “of this section”.

1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–333, § 814(d)(2)(E), as amended by Pub. L. 106–176, struck out first two sentences which read as follows: “At least thirty days prior to publishing in the Federal Register any proposed regulation required by this subchapter, the Secretary shall transmit a copy of the regulation to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. The Secretary also shall transmit to such committees a copy of any final regulation prior to its publication in the Federal Register.”

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–333, § 814(d)(1)(O), struck out subsec. (b) which read as follows: “In the case of an emergency, a final regulation of the Secretary may become effective without regard to the last sentence of subsection (a) of this section if the Secretary notified in writing the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate setting forth the reasons why it is necessary to make the regulation effective prior to the expiration of the thirty-day period.”